The study investigated the relationship between forceps length (a weapon-like structure) and six important behavioral and physiological traits in male European earwigs. The researchers sampled hundreds of males from two populations, selecting the 60 males with the longest and shortest forceps from each population, and then measured their locomotor performance, boldness, aggregation behavior, survival under harsh conditions, sperm storage, and survival after pathogen exposure.
Contrary to the researchers' predictions, the study found no main association between forceps length and the traits measured. This lack of association was consistent between the two populations, although there were population-specific differences in levels of boldness, aggregation, and survival in harsh conditions (for long-forceps males only).
These results challenge the current understanding of the function and quality signal of forceps length in this species. The findings raise questions about the evolutionary drivers that could explain the maintenance of weapon size diversity within and between populations of European earwigs.
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by Blackwell,S.... : www.biorxiv.org 03-25-2024
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.03.20.585871v3Mélyebb kérdések